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JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER: 
November.  24,  1898. 
TRKTRTIS  HIRTA. 
Thi*,  “H.  F.  F.”  is  the  name  of  your  specimen,  which  is  depicted  in 
fig.  69.  It  is  a  herbaceous  perennial  that  is  seldom  seen,  and  produces 
its  flowers  from  the  axils  of  the  leaves  on  the  upper  part  cf  the  stems. 
The  latter  usually  reach  a  height  of  3  to  4  feet,  and  bear  numerous 
sessile,  clasping,  hairy  alternate  leaves.  The  flowers  are  white,  thickly 
dotted  with  purple,  the  divisions  of  the  perianth  being  slightly  recurved. 
The  plant  is  hardy,  and  will  thrive  extremely  well  in  a  sheltered  border 
composed  of  sandy  loam  and  peat ;  but  as  the  flowers  appear  late  in  tho 
season,  tho  leaves  are  often  by  that  time  shrivelled,  and  present  a  very 
unsatisfactory  appearance.  For  this  reason  the  plant  seems  to  bo  best 
suited  for  pot  culture,  and  it  is  well  adapted  for  growing  in  a  greenhouse 
or  any  structure  of  a  similar  temperature.  Tho  flowers  also  are  seen  to 
much  greater  advantage  when  near  to  the  eye  than  if  the  plant  occupies 
a  border,  where  the  fine  markings  of  the  sepals  arc  quite  lost.  It  can 
exposed  site.  Of  the  several  varieties  grown  I  have  found  C.  hederae- 
j  folium  and  h.  album  flourish  the  best.  Wo  havo  some  planted  under  a 
west  well,  and  slightly  screened  by  shrubs,  which  have  been  in.  bloom  for 
over  a  month,  and  give  promise  of  a  further  supply.  The  charming 
litt'e  flowers  tend  to  lighten  many  a  dull  spot,  while  their  prettily 
marked  foliage  is  in  itself  a  distinct  ornament.  Europteum  is  a  fine 
variety,  but  not  quite  so  graceful  as  those  mentioned. 
While  on  a  visit  recently  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Torquay  with  a 
friend,  we  had  the  good  fortune  of  looking  over  the  picturesque  grounds 
of  Upton  Leigh,  which  are  situated  on  very  high  ground,  and  here  we 
saw  the  charming  plants  growing  in  a  natural  state,  and  in  great 
profusion  all  over  the  grounds,  where  they  had  themselves  seeded  and 
sprung  up.  Go  where  you  would  there  were  these  lovely  plants,  even  on 
a  high  dry  bank  partly  exposed  to  tho  sun.  Mr.  Lee,  the  gardener, 
showed  us  some  cwms  which  were  partly  exposed,  apparently  through 
tho  rains  washing  away  the  soil,  and  which  must  have  been  at  least 
5  inches  across,  resembling  the  gnarled 
root  of  a  tree.  I  venture  to  say  that  had 
my  readers,  or  tho  meat  disinterested 
person,  seen  these  plants  at  their  best, 
they  could  but  show  some  admiration  at 
tho  pleasiDg  effect. — Parvo. 
Fig.  gP.—  Tricyrtis  hirta. 
scarcely  be  imagined  what  pretty  little  buttonholes  the  flowers  make 
when  mounted,  and  they  arc  also  well  suited  for  bouquets.  During  tho 
time  tho  plant  is  growing  freely,  and  un.il  tho  flowers  are  produced, 
abundant  supplies  of  water  will  be  required,  but  after  the  (lowers  have 
faded  water  must  be  given  in  smaller  quantities,  only  sufficient  to  keep 
the  soil  slightly  moist.  The  pots  must  be  thoroughly  drained,  and  the 
soil  employed  should  consist  of  loam,  sand,  pc.it,  and  a  small  proportion 
of  deaf  soil  may  be  added.  The  species  is  a  native  of  Japan,  and  was 
intiodueed  into  this  country  in  1863. 
THE  YOUNG  GARDENERS’  DOMAIN. 
Violet  Culture. 
So  man}’  excellent  methods  of  growing 
Violets  have  been  described  in  these 
columns  that  one  may  well  say,  Which  is 
lire  best  ?  But  of  course  each  grower  has 
to  find  out  which  is  the  best  adapted  for 
bis  place,  for  what  will  suit  one  may  not 
suit  another,  however  good  that  plan  may 
be.  For  example,  a  garden  1}  ing  extremely 
low  will  need  different  tactics  to  one  the 
reverse.  Unfortunately,  we  have  the  former 
to  contend  with,  which  handicaps  us  in 
maDy  ways. 
Of  the  various  ways  of  growing  the 
Violet  wc  find  the  one  appended  answers 
us  best.  We  commence  operations  early 
in  April,  taking  cuttings  of  a  sturdy  nature 
with  as  much  foliago  as  possible,  and  insert 
them  in  shallow  boxes,  using  a  compost 
of  ohl  potting  soil  and  leaf  mould,  with  a 
fair  sprinkling  of  road  grit  or  sand.  These 
are  inserted  moderately  closely  together 
and  firm,  are  watered  and  placed  in  a  cold 
frame,  keeping  rather  close  till  they  have 
recovered  somewhat.  More  air  is  then 
admitted.  Great  care  is  exercised  not  to 
allow’  them  to  flag,  the  syringe  being  used 
morning  and  night,  shading  when  neces¬ 
sary. 
By  the  middle  of  Juno  they  are  ready 
to  plant  out  in  beds  previously  prepared, 
with  full  exposure  to  sun,  given  a  thorough 
watering,  and  on  the  approach  of  strong 
sunshine  we  shade  with  small  boughs  of 
trees.  Wo  mako  it  a  regular  practice  to 
use  tho  syringe,  which  tends  to  keep  tho 
foliage  free  from  red  spider.  A  dressing 
of  Mushroom  bed  refuse  is  used  as  a 
preventive  against  evaporation,  while  all 
runners  arc  lujt  pinched  off  the  plants, 
and  beds  free  from  weeds. 
Their  winter  quarters  are  in  frames, 
placed  on  low  beds  made  from  any  rubbish 
and  leaves  from  the  garden.  On  the  top 
is  put  old  potting  soil  and  leaf  mould 
about  1  foot  in  depth.  Tho  plants  are 
carefully  lifted  with  a  reasonable  amount 
of  soil  attached,  so  as  not  to  damage  the 
roots.  After  planting  the  bc-ds  receive  constant  waterings  until  thoroughly 
soaked,  as  it  saves  watering  in  the  dull  months.  The  lights  are  kept  off 
for  a  tunc,  unless  a  few  early  blooms  are  wanted.  As  regards  the  time  of 
planting,  we  are  governed  by  the  season.  This  season  we  did  not  plant 
till  the  first  w’cek  in  October.  Our  varieties  are  Marie  Louise,  La  Farme, 
double  blue  ;  and  Comte  do  Brazza,  double  white.  As  to  the  healthiness 
of  tho  plants,  they  are  all  on  a  par  with  one  another  ;  the  former  is  the 
most  vigorous,  and  just  now  is  giving  a  grand  display  of  flowers,  of  which 
I  enclose  a  few  ;  the  other  buds  are  not  so  forward. — Parvo. 
[Thu  flowers  were  delightfully  fragrant,  and  proved  by  their  size  and 
substance  that  the  methods  of  procedure  above  advocated  are  sound  if 
carefully  followed.] 
Hardy  Cyclamen. 
I  think  most  lovers  of  hardy  plants  will  coincide  with  me  in  saying 
that  hardy  Cyclamens  dcsorvo  wider  attention  than  is  accorded  to  them 
at  present,  and  that  they  are  no  worthy  of  culture  for  tho  adornment  of 
the  pleasure  grounds  as  the  term  or  Persian  Cyclamen  are  for  the  houses 
in  winter  and  spring.  Though  a^  alf-shady  position,  in  a  slightly  sheltered 
spot,  suits  them  best  I  have  sec  i  plants  blooming  very  freely  in  a  more 
Leicester  Vegetable  Show. —  We  have  received  a  list  of 
the  awards  that  were  made  at  the  root  and  vegetable  show  of  Messrs. 
Harrison  &  Sons  on  the  9th  inst.  It  is  now  the  2lth,  and  a3  we  have 
more  recent  matter  for  which  room  cannot  be  found  this  week  it  i9  not 
practicable  to  publish  the  list  in  question.  Potatoes  and  Onions  aro 
said  to  have  formed  the  leading  feature  of  the  show,  w  hich  was  marked 
by  superior  qualitj’. 
